Chapter VII

"What was that?" Cherrypaw whipped around. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

Stonepaw shrugged. "Probably the wind."

"What has your mentor taught you at all? You always have to be paranoid," Icepaw stated matter-of-factly.

Stonepaw stared. "Frost-tail didn't teach you that."

Icepaw stared at her paws. "She isn't very smart. Sometimes I make my own rules." Stonepaw just sighed, and walked in front of Icepaw, who hissed indignantly.

Cherrypaw whirled around. She heard it again. Something was moving in the undergrowth. And it wasn't a mouse. "Guys!" she quietly signaled. A lock of black fur moved between two shrubs, followed by three pairs of yellow eyes. They had heard enough kit stories to recognize these.

"Wolves!" Icepaw yelled smartly. The black beasts, officially positive that their quarries knew about them, slowly stalked out of the bushes. Stonepaw's eyes widened. They were twice the size of any cat she new and their claws were bigger than Stonepaw's whole paw. Backing away, the kept their gazes on the wolves. Then, the whipped around, ready to dash in the other direction, but there were wolves there, too. The biggest and most scarred wolf let out a howl that could be a laugh.

"You three are mighty young to be away from home."

Icepaw stuck out her chest. "We're plenty old." Stonepaw drew in a sharp breath and nudged her behind her, which any cat would take as a "let me do the talking," except Icepaw. She pushed back in front.

The wolf stared. "Where are you headed?" he asked. A smaller wolf, still quite huge, stepped behind the alpha. There was an obvious resemblance, even between wolves, so the cats assumed they were related. The alpha acknowledged the younger wolf with a nod.

Yet again Icepaw spilled. "Heh. We're going to save the Clan!"

The wolf smiled. Sort of. He pulled back his lip, exposing blood-stained teeth. They noticed he was rolling a squirrel under his paws. It flopped over limply. "Now how do you plan on doing that?" he asked. There was a glint of amusement in his eyes.

Icepaw hesitated. "Um... we don't know."

The wolves laughed. Icepaw rolled her eyes. The alpha signaled with his tail, and some very disappointed-looking wolves followed him away. The young wolf stared for a moment, before rushing to a she-wolf and muttered something about cats really existing. She ushered him away.

The three cats stared after them, bewildered at the events. Eventually confusion won over, and they resumed their walking. Thunder cracked overhead and it started drizzling, and as dark clouds blew overhead it got harder. They sheltered under a fern's fronds to sleep, drips on the fronds keeping them awake. Stonepaw rested her muzzle on her paws, thinking. Icepaw fidgeted in her sleep, continuously kicking Cherrypaw, so Stonepaw didn't have to worry about Cherrypaw falling asleep as well.

"If StarClan wants us to save the Clan, then why did they send the rain?" Stonepaw meowed angrily. "We could have gotten in some more walking if we hadn't had to take shelter."

Cherrypaw shrugged. "who knows. We'd better get some sleep," she said, flipping Icepaw around so that her flailing hind paws weren't battering her. The two apprentices curled up and put their tails over their noses, trying to sleep. Stonepaw liked rain, so it was easy enough, but Cherrypaw got worried as lightning crackled overhead. It sounded close. She hid her ears under her paws and pressed herself up against her friends, awaiting daylight.

Cherrypaw sensed difference. It was still raining, but the fern above her had disappeared. She blinked awake, becoming drenched, while trying to figure out what was going on. She came to one conclusion: this was StarClan territory.

Sure enough, a glistening cat appeared. She couldn't tell if it was because of the rain or the Stars in her fur; she was pretty sure both. She had long black fur with odd white stripes here and there, and looked... was that disappointed?

"This was not supposed to be..." she mumbled repeatedly under her breath, although Cherrypaw could hear it. The cat stared at her paws for a while until she reached Cherrypaw, then she looked directly at her. Cherrypaw blinked. "Who are you?"

The black cat sighed. "My name does not matter. Something is terribly wrong." she looked upwards. "I'm sure you're aware, that Bluetail has mistaken a sign again?"

Cherrypaw gulped. She had been hoping it had not, but she was expecting this much. She nodded.

"Your friends are not. I am afraid you will have to tell them." the black cat continued. "you must not continue this journey, or a horrible fate awaits you all..." and she began to fade.

"No! Don't leave! Why do you guys always give us these vague prophecies and expect us to figure them out without any clues?" but she had already left.

Cherrypaw crouched low. She had no idea how to leave. Whipping her head around frantically, she looked for shelter. She spotted a dense forest in the distance. After a few minutes, she reached it, and the rain picked up. She shivered under a bush and tried to dry off. Then, she heard a padding noise. She saw small white paws passing by and realized this was another StarClan member. She wasn't supposed to be here. Another cat, this one brown, emerged from the trees.

"Lilacleaf, that group of cats... we shouldn't have let Poisonclaw do it, she'll get the wrong idea in their heads!"

"But they weren't supposed to be sent out. They could die!"

"Lilacleaf... I smell something," the brown cat said.

Lilacleaf turned. "Is it food?" she sniffed the air hopefully.

The brown cat sniffed again. "No. It's a cat, I think it's from the living world!" He turned around, searching the bushes and trees around them. He padded slowly over to her bush. Cherrypaw held her breath, looking for a way out. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the tree beside the cats, causing everyone to jump. Lilacleaf looked her way for a moment, but then back towards the flaming tree. She drew in a breath and turned to her friend.

"Magmatail... this isn't good. It has never happened in the forest."

Magmatail swished his tail. "Lightning has struck the StarClan hunting grounds. Unless the three apprentices succeed, there will be doom for us all."

Cherrypaw felt herself fade into the waking world. Dawn was stretching over the sky in a bright red line. The others sat awake sunning themselves in the early light.

Cherrypaw sat there, thinking about Poinsonclaw's words... " This was not supposed to be..."